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shed

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word shed different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of shed are cast, discard, junk, scrap, and slough. While all these words mean "to get rid of," shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster.

shed a bad habit
finally sloughed off the depression

When would cast be a good substitute for shed?

Although the words cast and shed have much in common, cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation.

cast off her friends

When is it sensible to use discard instead of shed?

While the synonyms discard and shed are close in meaning, discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless.

discard old clothes

How do scrap and junk relate to one another, in the sense of shed?

Both scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form.

scrap all the old ways
would junk our educational system

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shed
Verb
These help detect the DNA from cancer or precancerous cells that shed into the blood as cancer grows, according to Kasi. Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 25 Feb. 2025 Kraft was reacting to a Herald report that shed light on internal emails between the city and Boston Unity Soccer Partners, which revealed negotiations to rehab Franklin Park’s White Stadium for a pro women’s soccer team were underway long before the city sent out a public request for proposals. Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 25 Feb. 2025
Noun
Wesley is accused of fleeing and hiding behind a shed. Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2025 The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found Evelyn's remains in a shed belonging to Megan's grandfather. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shed
Verb
  • Dusty blue velvet benches were piled against walls with peeling paint.
    Jane Arraf, NPR, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Chicago Fire is peeling back another layer of the onion that is Lizzy Novak.
    Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 25 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Last July, Belk unloaded more than $950 million in debt and gave some lenders more controlling interests in the company.
    Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Campers might consider unloading essentials from those cabinets before deploying the tent – or just deal with the slight inconvenience of having to crouch in through half-open hatches.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • In the Jungfrau Ski Region skiers get the perfect mix of easy and challenging slopes, nice mountain hut restaurants and aprés ski on the downhill runs and in Grindelwald Terminal.
    Roger Sands, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
  • At outdoor dining’s peak, there were nearly 13,000 permits issued for sheds outside restaurants — some costly and elaborate, others dingy huts that served as many rats as people.
    Matthew Haag, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Most recently, Millie Bobby Brown ditched her signature brunette for a bombshell blonde with lush long layers.
    Audrey Noble, Vogue, 25 Feb. 2025
  • Black faith leaders called on pastors to urge their congregations Sunday to join a 40-day boycott of Target in a campaign to push back against companies that have ditched diversity initiatives.
    Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Rather than simply dredging the sea floor and dumping the soil back into the ocean elsewhere, all materials are reused for land reclamation or infrastructure projects.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Mar. 2025
  • But Williams dumped the ball off to Brandon Clarke under the rim, and Robinson, recovering once again, arrived a split-second late.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In the past, the camp, called San Vicente, consisted of just a few shacks in a muddy expanse, and officials often kept migrants penned inside.
    Julie Turkewitz, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
  • The property also has a sugar shack with two 20,000-gallon silos to hold the sap.
    Peter Baugh, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Trump has discarded decades of American foreign policy orthodoxy, forging ahead in pursuit of new deals with countries like Russia — while other allies like Ukraine are left as collateral damage.
    CNN.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Fill the whole thing with water, swish the leaves around to remove any sediment and discard the water (or give your houseplants a drink with it).
    Kayleigh Drake, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Remember—you've already lost if your ad feels like an interruption.
    Renae Gregoire, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Where slave labor once made bricks, and thousands lost their lives, the designer crafted a massive concrete monument, completed in 1969.
    Michael Allen, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Shed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shed. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

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